


Because Traditions are Sacred

by octopus_fool



Series: Yuletide Cheer [7]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas Caroling, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 02:13:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16801651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/octopus_fool/pseuds/octopus_fool
Summary: Nobody could say that Elrond didn’t honour the old traditions. Sometimes, doing so was rather amusing – at least for Elrond.





	Because Traditions are Sacred

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day 1 of [Arda Advent](http://ardaprompts.tumblr.com/post/180626386876/join-me-in-creating-wintery-fanworks-about), the prompt was "carolling".

Nobody could say that Elrond didn’t honour the old traditions. Because he did, those from both sides of his ancestry – and any others he could find, for that matter. 

“I found something interesting in the library today,” Elrond announced at dinner. 

Arwen rolled her eyes and Elrond hoped that she wouldn’t be stuck in those awkward years between childhood and adulthood much longer. Glorfindel twitched nervously. Elrond decided that he would need to read more about Gondolin, it seemed there might be some interesting gossip yet to be revealed.

“I was reading through an old text on the early Edain and came across an old tradition that I thought might be fun to revive.”

Glorfindel relaxed, but Lindir stared at Elrond in dismay. Arwen buried her face in her hands.

“You want us to sing songs of _mortals_ in front of Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn?!”

“Yes, that was the idea.” This was turning out even more amusing than Elrond had imagined. 

“Can’t we at least sing elven songs? The old songs of men tend to be a bit, well, crude.”

Elrond fixed Lindir with a long, even stare. “I like to honour the traditions of both sides of my ancestry.”

Lindir turned as red as a beet. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply... I forgot... is this even the tradition of one of the branches of the Edain you descended from?”

“I don’t know, but does that make the tradition worth any less? Besides, it will be fun.”

Lindir fell silent and looked at the text of the old songs Elrond had found in the library. Occasionally, he raised his eyebrows or frowned.

It was Erestor who broke the silence. “What exactly does ‘pa rum pum pum pum’ mean? Is it in an old language of the Edain?”

“I don’t think so,” Elrond said. “I believe they merely added sounds that fit well with the melody.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would anybody add something meaningless to a song? Are you sure it isn’t something orcish?” Lindir asked. “I really don’t want to accidentally sing praise to Sauron, or worse, Morgoth.”

Elrond laughed. “Don’t worry, it is perfectly safe. Just try singing it, it rolls off the tongue so wonderfully that you’ll never want to stop singing it.”

“That was... nice. Very authentic, if a bit... archaic,” Celeborn said. “I do have one question though: what does ‘pa rum pum pum pum’ signify? Is it part of an ancient ritual liturgy?”

Elrond could almost see him swallowing the words ‘it’s not in the black tongue, is it?’. He smiled his sweetest smile at Celeborn, but before he could reply, Galadriel was already answering.

“I don’t believe it is. The Edain of old made up those words to convey the sound of the drums. And how pleasantly it rolls off the tongue too: pa rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum...”

“That is... fascinating. I’m just not sure if it would be right for us to sing it, I’m afraid it might sully the memory of the ancient Edain. It’s different for Elrond, of course, with his family history...”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure they would love to have their songs live on,” Elrond replied sweetly.

Celeborn did not sigh as Galadriel started singing, but Elrond could see he very much wanted to.

“You were right,” Erestor said as they reached their own talan. “It _is_ fun. Celeborn’s face alone was worth it. Are we doing this again next winter?”

“I think we should. It is a tradition after all. I just think we might visit some of our other neighbours then.”

“And this is an old tradition of the Edain?” Thranduil asked. “Inviting oneself to the table of neighbours and making... music?”

He took a deep swig of the wine standing in front of him, as if to ensure that his guests at least wouldn’t be getting that bit of wine. 

“Yes, and isn’t it a wonderful way to bring some cheer into the darkness of winter?”

Thranduil choked on his next gulp of wine. He was spared from having to answer by a servant arriving.

“My King, the elk have bolted from their stables because of a strange racket.”

“That was not a racket, that must have been the music of my guests,” Thranduil said through clenched teeth. “What are you waiting for?! Round them up and put them back in the stables!”

“Of course, my King. I’m sorry, my King, my Lord.” He bowed deeply in Thranduil’s and Elrond’s direction before scurrying out of the hall.

“I do apologize, Lord Elrond. I do have one question though: this king your song refers to, the one that sleeps on straw in a stable and the deer in that other song, would they be referring to anyone in particular?”

Elrond saw Arwen hide her face behind her large cup of wine and only hoped that she would succeed in not laughing too loudly.

“You know how unfortunately short the lives and memories of the Edain are. The songs must refer to events long past and people that are not recorded in proper histories. This is exactly why it is so important to keep these old songs and traditions alive, it would be such a shame if they were completely lost. And we all know how important traditions are.”

Elrond could hear Thranduil’s teeth grinding as he poured himself yet another cup of Dorwinion. 

Erestor had had far too much wine. Elrond couldn’t blame him, even the inferior bottles Thranduil had served his unwelcome guests were far better than what could be bought in most of middle-earth.

“His face! He really thought those songs were making fun of him!” Erestor was nearly thrown off balance by a bout of laughter. “And your answer! I think you could get away with anything if you pass it off as a _tradition_!”

Erestor turned pensive. “If we do this again next year, do we have to do it with real songs, with songs that were actually written by the Edain?”

Elrond chuckled. Who said that only bad ideas were born from wine? “I don’t see what would be wrong with a little creativity. Just try to keep it authentic.”

“Authentic” proved to be a difficult concept, especially since most elves’ experience with songs of the Edain was limited to a handful of songs. The members of Elrond’s household resorted to taking the elements that seemed most foreign to them as a foundation for their “authentic” songs. 

At least it spurred on their creativity. Elrond kept being informed about new competitions for the best Edain style song. It had been a long time since Elrond had heard this much music regularly.

“Isn’t there anything you can do to stop it?” Lindir asked, his face twisted as if in great pain. “If I have to hear any more strange rhymes or another chorus of ‘ra di la di dally’, ‘rum di dum dum’ or ‘tra la la lally’, I’ll... I’ll start screaming. They’ll have to stop if you tell them to.”

“Creativity is a good thing. Maybe a nice walk in nature will help you relax. Or you might want to try these.”

“What is that?”

“Candle wax. Warm it slightly and shape it to fit your ears. You’ll barely hear anything.”

Elrond could not remember anyone ever looking as thankful as Lindir.

**Author's Note:**

> There are still Arda Advent prompts for which I don't have ideas yet, so if there are any slash or femslash pairings (no incest though, sorry!) or Gen combinations you'd like to see, let me know (either in a comment or a tumblr ask, I'm ridiculoussquid) and I'll try to come up with something (Bagginshield and Thorin/Dwalin are planned anyway, so no need to request those)! If you've looked at my stories, you'll know that I mostly write for the Hobbit fandom, but I'm trying to do more LotR and Silmarillion stories too, so I'll also take suggestions for those (just no guarantees).


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